Salted Dark Chocolate Ganache & Dulce De Leche Tart

Anyways hello readers, the last post I wrote was at the end of November, after I did my every day blogging for a month.Ahh I have so much to write about and share. I have naturally accumulated more cookbooks than necessary( or that frankly fit on my book shelf/ kitchen), I won’t call it hording till I get into the thousands!

I want to share this recipe that I made a couple weeks ago – yes it does taste as good as it sounds/looks.

It was awesome! I actually made this for a fundraiser for church, they are raising money for the youth to go to a conference called overflow! Basically it was good another reason to bake 😉

I will explain the two components of the tart that people were asking what they actually were. Both are actually two very simple yet amazing components. First being the ducle de leche, that is basically created by slowly heating sweetened condensed milk to create a substance that changes flavor and color while cooking and creates a milk and intensified version caramel ( don’t let the name scare you). You can buy it in the stores, but I wanted to try to make it myself. The second thing is ganche which is simply heated cream and is combined with chocolate and depending on the kind of chocolate and the amount of cream can determine the texture and the use for the ganche. Phew ok that’s done. Now let’s get this party started.

Okay so there’s many ways of making dulce de leche but I found this method and I wanted to try it because you didn’t have to stir it more than once. ( Warning this step takes 2 hrs and 45 mins so definitely do this first). Like I said this step can be skipped, by just being a can of it at the store but it may taste different.

Empty the can of milk into a glass pie plate and cover tightly with tin foil.

Then put in a large baking pan ( I used the one we roast turkeys in) and fill with warm water until it reaches half way up the pie plate.

Next add yolk mixture in step 1 and process until mixture forms a ball. Shape into a disk and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Now it should be about time to talk your dulce de leche out of the oven. Simply take it out and take off the foil and whisk it until smooth.

It should look something like this.Place pie plate back into the baking pan and reseal with tin foil. You will need to add more water since some it will have evaporated. Make sure it has enough water that it fills the baking pan at least half. Continue to cook at 425 for an hour and a half.

Now you can press your dough into the pan. This dough will be different than a pie dough it will be much greasier, so don’t freak out. Then simply press and stretch the dough into a tart pan, until it has evenly covered the bottom and sides.

Cover the pan in tin foil and sit cans of beans on top ( this helps the crust to not shift or shrink). BAKE for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, or until pastry is set and the edges are golden. Remove the foil and weights. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

At this point your dulce de leche should be done cooking. It should have a dark caramel/peanut butter colour to it.Take it out of the pan whisk until smooth. Then add to cooled pie shell.

( sorry about the blurriness, I was my own photographer)

Now time to make the ganache just like I said earlier is simply heated cream combined with cold chocolate. Place the chocolate in medium bowl and set aside. Heat 1/2 cup cream in a small saucepan until bubbles appear around the edge. Remove the cream from the heat and pour over the chocolate to start melting it. Let stand for 5 minutes or until melted. Whisk until smooth. Once slightly cooled pour on top of the tart.

Then top with sea salt flakes. I waited until it cooled to put on the salt but it’s better when it’s wet because it will stick better. Let it cool in the fridge for an hour at least, so the ganache can set. I did mine overnight.

Serve this and expect new friendships/marriage proposals/job offers etc 😉

Salted Dark Chocolate Ganache & Dulce De Leche Tart

Ingredients

2 large egg yolks

1 Tablespoon heavy cream

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 can (13.4 ounces) Sweet and Condensed milk OR dulce de leche sauce ( found near the condensed milk)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup (6 ounces) Semi-Sweet Chocolate or Dark Chocolate Morsels

Flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Directions

Dulce De Leche Sauce

1.Heat the oven to 425°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

2.Pour milk into a pie plate and sprinkle with salt. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in a roasting pan. Place the roasting pan in the oven and add enough hot tap water to reach halfway up the sides of the pie plate. Bake for 1 hour.

3.Remove the roasting pan from the oven and remove the pie plate. Carefully uncover the plate and whisk the mixture until smooth, about 1 minute. Replace the foil and return the pie plate to the water in the roasting pan. Place back in the oven, adding more hot water so that it remains halfway up the sides of the pie plate. Continue to bake until the dulce de leche is dark golden brown (about the color of peanut butter), about 1 1/2 hours more.

4.Remove from the oven and transfer the pie plate to a wire rack. Remove the foil and whisk the dulce de leche until smooth, about 3 minutes.

**** As stated earlier you can skip this stuff and buy dulce de leche sauce the taste will not be quite the same****

Pie Crust & Ganache

Whisk together egg yolks, 1 tablespoon cream and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract in small bowl.

Next add yolk mixture in step 1 and process until mixture forms a ball. Shape into a disk and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Unwrap the dough and spread it out to a disk and transfer to a 9 inch tart pan, press into the bottom and to the sides pulling the dough up the sides.

Line the shell with a piece of aluminum foil; fill with pie weights, dried beans or rice.

BAKE for 30 minutes or until pastry is set and the edges are golden. Remove the foil and weights. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely..

Spoon dulce de leche into tart shell, spreading evenly.

Now place the chocolate in medium bowl and set aside. Heat 1/2 cup cream in a small saucepan until bubbles appear around the edge.

Remove the cream from the heat and pour over the chocolate to start melting it. Let stand for 5 minutes or until melted. Whisk until smooth.

Take the melted chocolate and pour over dulce de leche; spread with a spatula.

Dust with a little flaky sea salt.

To serve the same day refrigerate for at least 1 hour for it to set. Remove side of tart pan and transfer the tart to a serving plate. Cut into wedges.